Fawad Khan Starrer The Legend Of Maula Jatt Release Stalled In India?

Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan starrer The Legend of Maula Jatt was widely hailed by the critics and audience. Except for India, the movie was released across the globe in October 2022. Looks like the film is now facing a roadblock. The movie which was supposed to released in India on October 2, has been cancelled.

Why The Legend of Maula Jatt  release in India has been cancelled?

The Legend of Maula Jatt would have been the first Pakistani film to release in Indian theatres after 2011's Bol, starring Humaima Malick, Mahira Khan and Atif Aslam.

According to a report in ANI, the release of the film in India has been stalled due to the ban on Indian movies in Pakistan . The tweet shared by ANI reported that,  "Pakistani film The Legend of Maula Jatt is not being permitted in cinema theatres in India. It is learnt that the decision has been taken as Indian films have not been permitted in Pakistan since 2019: Sources." 

MNS opposed the release of The Legend of Maula Jatt in Maharastra

The announcement of The Legend of Maula Jatt release in India was met with severe backlash in the political circles. The  Maharashtra  Navnirman Sena (MNS) said they will not allow the movie to be screened anywhere in the country.  Raj Thackeray  took to social media platform X and wrote in Marathi, “Pakistani actor named Fawad Khan's movie titled 'Legend of Maula Jat' is going to release in India soon. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena will not allow the movie to be released in Maharashtra under any circumstances. Why are films of Pakistani actors allowed to be released in India?”

In a long post, he further said, "And art knows no national boundaries, that's all right in other cases, but in  Pakistan  it won't work at all. What kind of action is being taken to bring the actors of a country that is divided on the sole issue of hatred of India, to dance here and to screen their films? Governments should not allow this film to be screened in any state of the country, let alone  Maharashtra  ."

This is after the Uri terror attack in 2016, a blanket ban on Pakistani artists working in Indian films and in the country was imposed. The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) cited 'patriotism' and 'security' for Indian artists as the reasons for not working with Pakistanis and vice-versa. This has raised questions about the status of Pakistani films' release in India, with The Legend of Maula Jatt being in focus.